A door lock mechanism generally automatically latches a door of an automotive vehicle upon closing the door and unlatches it upon pulling a door handle or an interior door handle. The door lock mechanism also locks or unlocks the latched door upon operating a door lock knob or a door lock key cylinder. After locking the door, the door lock mechanism is disabled to unlock the door even though pulling the door handle or the interior door handle. Such a door lock mechanism is known from Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62(1987)-118,862 entitled "Remote Control Rod Connecting Mechanism of a Door Lock Mechanism" laid open July 28, 1987.
For easy door opening by a driver or a passenger in the automotive vehicle, the interior door handle is located in front part of the front-hinged front door and operationally coupled to the door lock mechanism by means of a link member such as a cable extending in a space formed between inner and outer door panels forming the door.
In a door structured from the inner and outer door panels, if the outer door panel is distorted or crushed inward as a result of, for example, being laterally hit while the door is locked, the crushed outer door panel tightly stretches, and thereby pulls, the cable interconnecting the interior door handle and the door lock mechanism. As a consequence, the door lock mechanism can be caused to unlock the door in the same manner as when the door handle or the interior door handle is intentinally operated in order to unlock the front door. This may lend to an accidental plunging of the crushed door into the automotive vehicle compartment and possible injury to the driver or passengers in the automotive vehicle.